The Town of Drayton Valley is continuing with upgrades to its water system.
The Town received an update on the project at their meeting Nov. 24. The Town has been working on upgrading its water system for some time, and broke it down into three projects.
First was a new water treatment plant, which was commissioned in 2015. The second was a new water intake system, which was completed in 2019, while the third is a distribution connection from the water treatment plant to the town’s water grid.
Currently, the Town has four back-up pumps that are being used for water distribution. Administration reports that one of the pumps is on the verge of failure, and a second one is not far behind. They warned that if these pumps fail, the Town will need to be put under a boil water advisory.
The new distribution system would see the installation of 12 new pumps, and the four existing pumps repaired and returned to being a back-up system. Administration would like to start work on the new distributions system in Spring 2022.
The projected cost of the project is $1.3 million. Officials say the Town has been saving up for this project, with $475,000 tucked away in the water system capital reserve. The Province will be contributing $852,000 through its Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI), while the rest will be pulled from the Town’s reserves.
Town council expressed concern, however, at that funding model. The Province is due to reduce how much MSI funding they allocate to municipalities, and the Town has already pledged most of its MSI funding to the new Aquatic Centre.
Administration proposed they could try to apply for the extra funds from a Provincial fund called the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership (AMWIP). AMWIP could cover as much as 40 per cent of the cost.
Town council voted to approve the project, but also directed administration to pursue the AMWIP funding.
Comments